


Risk It

by fleeting_fantasy



Series: Akira Kurusu/Joker x Reader [3]
Category: Persona 5, persona - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Death, F/M, Hurt, Persona 5 Spoilers, Sacrifice, Spoilers, persona - Freeform, persona 5 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 15:53:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18479455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleeting_fantasy/pseuds/fleeting_fantasy
Summary: When the plan becomes compromised and there’s no way to escape, you decide to risk it all to save the life of your friends and lover.||Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya/Joker x Reader||





	Risk It

Joker softly panted as Thor dissolved before him, a bit more hurt and too close of a call for his liking. He rolled his shoulders back and swallowed his breath, reeling from the intense spike of adrenaline that had been running through his veins. According to the announcer before that duel began, that was the extent of the battles he’d be faced with; though he couldn’t help but keep his guard up. After all, this casino was not known for playing fair. Joker steadied his racing heart and looked up at the announcer’s board and smirked in hopes it’ll set them off and make them keep their word. It was a risk, but one they had to take. “Is that all you’ve got?” He taunted, tossing his dagger into the air and skillfully catching it.   
Joker had a feeling he got through to the announcer. “T-The Phantom Dweeb took out our prized champion?” They seemed astonished. “N-No, the House cannot lose...” They were completely frantic. Half the stadium was in uproar and the other half cheered on Joker after his unfair battle between all of his opponents. The shadow announcer paused and turned away, murmuring on his walkie-talkie from his position within the glass, having an obviously panicked exchange that the microphone didn’t pick up on.   
“What’s with the delay?” Panther shouted from the sidelines, looking furious. “He won your unfair challenge; just give him the prize!”   
Queen put a hand on her shoulder and furrowed her brows, looking worried. “I have a bad feeling about this... we need to get out of this arena now.”   
“And leave Joker here?” You interjected, shaking your head. “I refuse!”   
Crow turned his head and gave you a curious look. “Actually, I agree with Queen. We should retreat for now. They’re likely scheming something. After all, 100,000 coins is hard to come by in this casino.” He seemed thoughtful, likely analyzing the situation to great length. “We can't afford to fail this mission. Stealing Sae-san’s heart is our top priority, otherwise you’ll all... well... it’s not a pleasant thought.”  
The others cringed, knowing their lives were on the line, whether or not they could succeed in this heist.  
Skull shook his head despite that. “Man, we can’t abandon our leader like that! He’s done too much for us. We can take on anythin’. I’m sticking here.”  
As the group struggled to come to the right choice of action in the stand, A few of the bulkiest security guards came up while everyone was distracted and pressed a gun to your back. “Come on quietly. We don't want any unfortunate accidents.”  
The entire group shot up in alarm, sweat dripping down their backs as you yelped, the gun being pushed further into your skin, digging into it uncomfortably.   
Fox’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, fingers twitching on his weapon. “What do you want with her? You never said anything about this in the rules.”  
“That's right!” Noir exclaimed. “You can't suddenly change the rules! We’re paying members of this casino!”   
Mona hopped forward, extending his paws to stop the other Phantom Thieves. “You want her to battle our leader, don't you?” He asked in a cold tone. “That's dirty.”   
Hatred and anger were obvious in the thieves’ eyes. They were left with no other choice if they wanted to continue on with their objective, but it didn't stop the fury they experienced. They had to get those 100,000 coins, no matter the cost. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get past the bridge to where Sae’s treasure is and stop the true criminal from using the Phantom Thieves for their own devices. You closed your eyes and steadied your breath, making up your mind. You'll fight Joker. If it will make sure that he’s saved and that the chips were rightfully yours, you’d do anything.  
One of the shadows tugged on your arm, pulling you back unexpectedly. “Let go.” You seethed, pulling your arm away. “I'll follow you. If you want to play dirty, we’ll find a way to turn it against you.” You straightened your posture and steeled the determination in your eyes, knowing that everyone was counting on you for this.   
“P-Please stay safe!” Oracle called out as you followed the shadows into the waiting area of the arena, her hands trembling in front of her and her movement reflected the deep anxiety she suddenly felt.  
You turned your head and gave them a reassuring smile. “Succeed, no matter what.” You remind subtly, nodding your head before being pushed by the guards towards the door. “I'm counting on you guys!” For some reason, an unsettling feeling landed on your heart, and you were almost tempted to break your composure and run back to the others, but Joker needed you. Akira needed you.   
You took one last glance at the group and watched as their worried expressions set into their faces like stone -- with the sole exception of the smirk dancing on Crow’s lips for a fleeting moment, gone completely unnoticed by the others. 

The hallway that lead into the arena was dark and long, a rusty scent in the air that nearly made you puke. The shadows behind you did not move threateningly, and you were well aware that you could take the two of them out easily. Your eyes darted towards your right, and you clenched your jaw, wishing that there was another way to go about this. Before you could think of any alternative, you fell forward into the blinding arena, cheering from the stand piercing your ears.   
You dusted yourself off and turned around, only to see the metal bars fall into place, locking you inside the arena. Figures they’d do that. You slowly rotated, facing towards Joker, seeing the horror on his face.  
“[Codename]?” He breathed out, as if he couldn’t believe that you were in front of him. “What are—?”  
“The final contestant has finally arrived!!” The announcer shrieked, “Only one of you may come out of this battle! What will you do?”   
You pressed your lips together, widening your stance and taking out your weapon of choice. I’m sorry, you mouthed, taking in a shaky breath. It was a sacrifice you were willing to make. A necessary sacrifice. For the better of everyone. Steeling your resolve, you raised your weapon and lifted your chin up, refusing to utilize your persona. 

Joker was smart in all accounts of the word. He had to be, with the hand he was dealt in life. Which is why his heart rate sped up and his chest tighten with anxiety. Why was this happening? He had played by their rules, and yet the continued to change them on the whim.   
He tightened his grip on his dagger, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He knew that look in your eyes and it worried him. If his thoughts matched yours… Joker refused to dwell on it. His eyes darted from every corner of the room, wondering if there was some weakness in this plan that he could exploit.   
It was amateurish of him to leave himself open while he was in battle, and Joker realized it a second too late, when you came and attacked from a close-range. He grunted and his body tensed at the pain, though he was acutely aware that this was not the full extent of your power. Your voice was quiet, discreet, and chilling, “.....don’t hold back. Use my weakness.”   
Joker’s spine straightened as you retreated, your intentions matching what he greatly feared. He was more than familiar with all of your abilities as a persona-user, being the one to command your actions in the first place. You looked like you were trying desperately not to show the emotions that threatened to spill over your cheeks, and Joker forced himself to swallow down the lump in his throat.  
His turn.   
Joker’s head was buzzing with the accumulation of screaming from the stands and the worries in his own head. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice someone… but there was no getting out of this otherwise. Joker was needed for later… and regardless, the Phantom Thieves could not continue without the guidance of their leader.   
The audience was getting impatient, and Joker knew it. This is bad… His hand trembled as he slowly raised it to summon his persona. Joker didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to hurt you. But that look in your eyes made him unable to act reckless. Follow the plan. You have to succeed. You seemed to urge him on, spitting out a throwaway taunt to keep the audience content.   
“Persona.”  
Joker kept his eyes shut tightly as he used your weakness against you, feeling nauseous as your cry of pain filled the arena, followed by a harsh thud onto the hard floor. His bottom lip quivered, the impact of hurting the person he loved hitting him just as hard. His head was spinning and heart was hurting, tears stinging his eyes as he fought the urge to run over to you and heal you with diarahan. Slowly, he reopened his eyes and saw the small amount of blood on your body. You weren’t dead; the soft breathing and the connection he felt to you proved that. But you were unconscious and would probably be for a while.  
Cheers roared in the stadium once more, and the announcer's screams joined them, now with nowhere to run, he finally gave Joker the prize, and opened the gate to allow him to leave. Joker’s breath hitched and he moved to grab you, but was stopped by the guards, who blocked the path to your limp body. He wasn’t strong enough to take all of those guards on by himself at such low energy and health, so Joker clenched his fist and continued to push his heavy legs to walk.  
You’ll find a way out and rejoin him. He’ll be able to apologize and repent and love every part of you again. You two are going to go on so many more adventures. He knew it. Joker was sure of it. 

It must have been ages since you fell unconscious. The arena was empty, save for you, with no shadow or persona user in sight. You stood up on shaky legs, stumbling and clutching your head, wishing one of your companions were here to heal you. The shadows had stripped you bare of items and you weren’t equipped with any healing spells, so you were out of luck.  
Soft white noise buzzed in your ear, shocking you fully awake. “Stay calm! You can get away now!” Oracle…? Your eyebrows furrowed in thought. Were they already in the middle of the police chase? You needed to find a way out, and quickly.   
The first step made you fumble, but you slowly relearned how to walk with the pain, searching and fumbling with anything you could in hopes of breaking out of the arena.   
You heard rumbling from behind you. Did you do it? You stood up and turned around from what you were tinkering with and saw, with surprise, Akechi walking through the gates. “You—“  
“You’ve been a real pain in my ass, you know that?” He mused, slowly walking over to you, madness in his eyes. Your breath hitched in your throat and your eyes darted towards the exit. He really was a crazy bastard, just like you thought. “I can’t wait to see the look on the trash’s face when he finds out what happened to you.”   
“What…?” You couldn’t deny that you were terrified. This is the man that killed and harmed so many people with his rampage through the Metaverse. He… he probably had much more power than any of you had seen thus far. You were in danger, every sound in you alerted thus.   
Your feet moved quickly, but Akechi was a veteran and outskilled you. He summoned a dark figment unlike anything you had seen before and screamed out “Call to Chaos!”, the impact of the ability cutting into you like a blazing sword, causing a blood curdling scream to rip through your lips as you stumbled from your path.  
The last thing you saw before the madness took you over was Akechi’s wild look and dangerous laughter as he left the arena, and you. 

Darkness. Emptiness. It was a plague in your mind and nothing could get it out. You body and mind felt rabid, doing things out of your control. You tried desperately to stop yourself, to stop the pain. “Akira…! Akira..!!” You called out continuously, shrieking and weeping as your glossed over eyes played images of horror over and over and over again.   
It felt endless, watching scenes of Akira in your mind doing and being inflicted by various things that broke you, little by little. Beatings, rape, torture, murder, cheating, leaving, screaming, dying, sacrificing, anything and everything. It was absolute hell. How long were you suffering for? Your screams were now silent, voice gone and face puffy with crying. Your energy was gone, mind numb from the insanity of living through the chaos.   
How long were you in here? What were you doing here? Where is here? Nothing mattered, nothing made sense. The only grip on who you were before the judgement that struck down upon you. If anyone were to look upon you, they would find a broken beast in the shell of someone who was once human. The madness was overwhelming. No was was coming to save you. Who were they? Who was Akira? Memories were slowly becoming more and more hazy, anxiety and panic increasing much faster, causing your head to feel like it was about to explode and then—  
“I’m sorry. I love you.”  
Nothingness.  
Your hands, which gripped viciously at your neck, clawing and squeezing with no remorse, unfeeling towards the pain that seemed miniscule compared to the mental torture, went limp. Your body swayed slowly, before crashing unceremoniously into the dirt, blood etched on your face and bruises all over your body. Your mouth was agape and tears wet your cheeks, soon to be dried. Your breathing ceased, heartbeat gone.   
Finally… a moment of rest… 

The chase against the police was rough, even though Joker knew that part of the plan was to be caught. He flaunted and taunted his way past guards and shadows, aware the vast extent of his abilities. His greatest maneuver tonight, however, was his exit from the building. An elegant and extra move, which caused his teammates to groan from frustration.   
Joker smirked to himself as he ran across the wall, gripping onto the ladder when a searing pain ripped through his chest, taking him off guard. It was hot. Burning, even. It felt as if a piece of him had been sharply and suddenly torn from him. He had never experienced a pain like this— it left him breathless and glossy-eyed, not even registering the pain of being knocked to the ground and pinned by police, his mind fuzzy with questions. His heart hurt. What happened?  
The worst came to his mind like a vision, echoed by the somber words of Caroline and Justine. An unbreakable bond shattered. Akira’s lip quivered as the horrific scene of your lifeless body played in his head over and over again, etched into his mind as a permanent scar. “I’m sorry…” Akira croaked, a single tear falling down his cheek as he was roughly escorted by police. “I’m sorry….”


End file.
